In Loco, the widespread museum of abandonment

A unique guide to the discovery of the Romagna territory through its forgotten treasures and technology
‘In Loco. il museo diffuso dell’abbandono‘ (On site. the widespread museum of abandonment) is a project that tells the Romagna territory, from Imola to Rimini, by making visible those private and public places (villas, convents, marine colonies, industrial buildings, amusement parks, churches, etc.) that have abandonment as a common trait, in order to enhance and reinterpret a heritage that is likely to be forgotten.

Despite their current state, abandoned and uninhabited places tell stories about a lively past, but they also carry the legacy of the economic, political, and cultural events that brought about their decay and the personal stories of the people who lived and worked there. Unwanted spaces are both physical and mental places, which undergo a progressive disregard for their social, historical, environmental, cultural and economic value. Forgotten by man and society for indifference, or in anticipation of a better use, these lost treasures inevitably face the progressive deteriorating of their physical space and oblivion. This interweaving raises questions about the past and the present of these places, but even more about our own present and future.

Colonia Varese. Photo by Filippo Venturi

The mapping of these sites, which began in 2010 on the website www.spaziindecisi.it, became the starting point for tracing six travel itineraries for photographers, architects, urban explorers, and whoever wants to discover the history and the territory of Romagna from an unprecedented point of view.
These itineraries have been elaborated into an alternative and ever-evolving tourist guide, ‘In Loco’, a true widespread museum, that offers multimedia content purposely created in collaboration with artists, photographers and video makers, which can be enjoyed ‘In Loco’ – i.e. on site – through the use of technology devices in the proximity of the places proposed by the guide.

The six itineraries are:DOVE – Artistic itinerary, directed by Patrizia Giambi, who, with the aid of purposely created works, reinterprets in a contemporary key 8 ‘urban leftovers’LAVORI IN TRAS-CORSO – Itinerary, inspired by the documentary of the same name, which pays homage to some of the most important workplaces in Forlì during the last centuryTOTALLY RIVIERA – Itinerary that presents 8 ‘wrecks’ on the Romagna coastline: a trip on the coast through totalitarian summer campsUN’ESTATE AL MARE – The ever-evolving itinerary that tells the most famous places of summer fun in Romagna.DARSENA 3.0 – The dock of Ravenna between the sea and the industrial archaeology. The itinerary pays tribute to the historic outposts of Ravenna’s productivityTOTALLY TERRAE – An inland itinerary between institutional buildings, schools, and factories, a heritage of the last century and of the Italian rationalism.